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Outside a Muslim shrine in this dusty Pakistani city, a "rat woman" with a tiny head sits on a filthy mattress and takes money from worshippers who cling to an ancient fertility rite.

Nadia, 25, is one of hundreds of young microcephalics -- people born with small skulls and protruding noses and ears because of a genetic mutation -- who can be found on the streets of Gujrat, in central Punjab province.

Officials say many of them have been sold off by their families to begging mafias, who exploit a tradition that the "rat children" are sacred offerings to Shah Daula, the shrine's 17th century Sufi saint.

Pakistani Shah Daula rat woman Nadia

"These are God's children. We are proud to look after her," said Ijaz Hussain, the shrine's government-employed custodian, as Nadia shrieked unintelligibly and put coins in a battered wooden box at her side.

According to local legend, infertile women who pray at Shah Daula's shrine will be granted children, but at a terrible price. The first child will be born microcephalic and must be given to the shrine, or else any further children will have the same deformity.

Hussain said Nadia was just a young child when she was dumped at the shrine 20 years ago in the dead of the night. Her parents were never traced, he says.

"Since that day we have taken care of her, she is like family to us. People come here for prayers and seek fulfilment of their desires but they are respectful towards her," added Hussain, 56.

Pakistan's government says it has tried to crack down on exploitation of the "chuhas" (Urdu for rats) and says it plans to set up a shelter in Gujrat to rehabilitate them.

The shrine stopped officially accepting microcephalics in the 1960s when the government took over the site.

But not only does it still keep Nadia at its gate, the town's beggar masters also keep the superstition alive.

"Get lost! I don't want to talk to you," shouted a bearded beggar master in Gujrat's main bus station, grabbing a microcephalic woman by the hand and leading her through the crowds when asked to comment on his actions.

Bus passengers gave the woman money, as many believe it is bad luck not to.

Another microcephalic man stood with his handler in the wilting afternoon heat, staring into space.

The high incidence of microcephalics in Gujrat, an industrial city of around one million people, has long been a bone of contention.

The popular belief among many Pakistanis -- that cruel beggar gangs clamp the children's heads in infancy -- is strongly denied by government and advocacy groups, who say there is no evidence to support this.

Recent medical studies say the most likely cause is that the normally rare recessive genes behind many microcephaly cases crop up with greater frequency because of the common custom of marrying cousins in Pakistan.

But finding the cause is easier than stamping out the exploitation of "rat children" in the name of religion, says Pir Nasiruddaula, a descendant of the saint who has written several books on the shrine.

"The myth of the chuhas has been exploited by beggar mafias and religious groups," said Nasiruddaula, a former science professor in his 70s.

"They roam the villages and if the real chuha is born they give them some money and they take them," he said.

"But what kind of saint would really curse issueless women with the 'blessing' of deformed children?"

Rakhshan Sohail, of the Punjab provincial government's Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, said his department planned to establish a centre in Gujrat to stamp out exploitation of microcephalics.

"Some of these children, the handicapped ones especially, are accompanied by relatives," he told AFP. "But begging gangs also look for poor parents who will sell them because they are a burden to feed and shelter."

Sohail said his department had busted more than 30 gangs across the province involved in exploiting street children, some of which had broken the limbs of children so that they would earn more as beggars.

But the "rat children" are symptomatic of hardships faced by up to 100,000 street children nationwide -- and an economic crisis caused by spiralling fuel and food prices is hurting his department's efforts, he said.

"It's a critical issue," he said. "When people are living on less than a dollar a day, they are more likely to put their children on the roads and make them beg."

Watch Video:-Unbelieveable Stuff Rat Children of Pakistan

Goat fighting match in S China

shows two goats, on their hind legs, poised to ram at Wadian Township, Linquan County, Anhui Province. More than 200 of them took part in a goat-fighting match on this day.shows two goats locked in their horns at Wadian Township

In the west when we think of Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li we think of Kung fu, but interestingly here in China Kung Fu is just as likely to be called 'Wushu'.P: Ni Hao. Welcome to "Ask Pingping and Jules", your bridge to Chinese culture. I'm Pingping.

J: Ni Hao. I'm Jules. Wo shi Zhu Li An. This morning I saw some people practicing Tai Chi in a park. It's fascinating. I've recently discovered that Tai chi is one of the many types of Wushu. You know, in the west when we think of Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li we think of Kung fu, but interestingly here in China Kung Fu is just as likely to be called 'Wushu'.

P: Yes, and there are many different varieties and styles of Wushu, and tai chi is one of the more famous of these styles.

J: So, Pingping are you a big fan of this genre of movie, the 'Kung fu' movie.

P: Absolutely. Jacky Chen is one of my idols. I love his movies.

J: So do I. Leaping onto roofs and vaulting over walls is amazing! So are these movements real Chinese kung fu moves or is it just make-believe for the movies?

P: Mostly it's real kung fu.J: Wow. It must be complicated and mysterious. It's interesting that Kung fu films have had such a wide ranging influence on so many action films. But what's the origin of kung fu?

P: Kung fu, also known as Wushu or martial arts, was created for physical training and self-defence.

J: How long has it been practiced?

P: For around several thousand years. And because it's based around maintaining health, wushu was also used in conjunction with medicine in ancient times.

J: You mean wushu can cure diseases?

P: Yes. The famous ancient surgeon Hua Tuo created a set of exercises inspired by five animals for curing diseases and physical training. And they have been handed down to the present day.

J: Haha, interesting. But I don't understand why it is still so popular in China and gaining increasing interest throughout the world.

P: Um… in China I think the reason is that Wushu builds strong bodies and strengthens willpower and sometimes it offers training in fighting skills. But I'm not quite sure in other countries…

J: It's the cultural meaning I guess. In many foreigners' eyes, Wushu is one symbol of Chinese culture. Also it's also very cool!

P: Good point! Let me give you a test, how many types of Wushu do you know?

J: Thi Chi… It's really hard for me to name them all. I watched a lot of films and I studied a little bi of Wushu before but I don't actually know the individual names.

P: I see. Well …. Wushu is practiced by performing various types of set exercises. It generally falls into five categories; these include quanshu (barehanded exercises), qixie (exercises with weapons), duilian (dual combat), group performances and combat using offensive and defensive skills.

J: Well then, which type does Thi Chi belong to ?

P: Quanshu—barehanded boxing.

J: Oh….I found that some movements in Peking Opera seem very similar to wushu. Why is that ?

P: As wushu exercises contain many beautiful and natural body movements, they have become great attractions in Chinese operas, not only Peking Opera. Some of them have even been adopted to fighting scenes on the opera stage.

J: Okay. Pingping, could you tell me something about Shaolin Temple and it's connection with Kung fu. You know, Shaolin Temple attracts many foreigners because of this connection, as well as it's beautiful location.

P: Yeah. Shaolin Temple is much more than just a temple. In a sense, it is a famous wushu school and an institution in China. Since it was established in 477AD, people of all ages who have been interested in martial arts have came to the Shaolin Temple. The Shaolin Temple has its own unique type of wushu, called Shaolin kung fu.

J: Well, today we talked about "kung fu" in China.

Fattest wrestler in the world

Fattest wrestler on the world. Just see he in compering to others. It’s look so funny when somebody is next to him.

This is the terrifying moment a woman was attacked by a polar bear after jumping into its zoo enclosure.

The 32-year-old leapt over bars at Berlin Zoo during the bears' feeding time yesterday.

Despite six zookeepers' efforts to distract the four predators kept in the enclosure, the woman was bitten several times on her arms and legs.

Shocking attack: A woman was mauled by a bear after jumping into a enclosure at Berlin Zoo yesterday

The brave keepers eventually managed to push the Polar bear away and pull the woman to safety.

She was bitten by one of the four older polar bears in the enclosure and not by the famous Knut, who took Germany by storm as a cub after he was hand-raised by a keeper.

Build-up to the attack: The woman swims towards a polar bear

Still under attack, the woman swims for and then finally grabs a rope hanging down by rescuers

She finally escapes the bears and is rushed off to hospital for treatment

It is not known why the woman pulled the dangerous stunt but she initially appeared to be elated as she swam towards a bear in the enclosure.

It is not easy to access the enclosure, which is surrounded by a fence, a line of prickly hedges and a wall.

The woman's cardigan hangs from the polar bear's jaws after the attack

She was taken to a hospital for treatment where she is now recovering after undergoing surgery to heal her wounds.

Watch Video:-Woman Attached By Polar Beer

Big stomach: 164 sushi within 20 minutes

Takeru Kobayashi(L) of Japan and Johnny Wu (R) of China's Hong Kong swallow food during an eating contest in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 29, 2009. Takeru Kobayashi, the famous Japanese big eater, claimed the title in the eating contest on Sunday by eating 164 sushi within 20 minutes.